Starbase Bravo – Quarters –  0845

Harris glanced over the PADD once more to review what he was going to say to his command crew.  It was a momentous thing to go from a Raven Class to a New Orleans Class – he was still reeling over the assignment.  She was due to arrive at 1000 and he hadn’t really sat down since he’d been given the assignment.  He’d met his new Chief Engineer and had been impressed he’d found a fellow strong engineering officer to steward the insides of the Edinburgh.  The chime to his quarters rang and he called out, “Enter.”

Jordan Reid stepped through the door and stalked over to her CO as the door closed behind her, “Please tell me we get a bigger ship.  I can’t handle being back in the crammed sickbay again, Ambrose.”  She let out a sigh, “Sorry…been a morning.”  He gave her a cocked to the side look and held out his arms.  She bit her bottom lip and folded into his arms where they held an intimate embrace in the silence.  She whispered, “It’s going to be real weird when Prentice walks in and sees this.”

Harris chuckled and released his first officer, “He’d lose his mind.”  They looked at each other for a moment before he broke the silence again, “You ok with…whatever this is?”  They met for drinks the past few nights and enjoyed being able to let down their guards and dispense with the uniform and the rank.  It had led to them feeling closer to each other and trying to sort out what that meant for either of them.

“I think when we give it a name…I think that’ll complicate things.”  She shrugged at his curious look, “Look, I don’t know Ambrose.  I like you.  You like me.  We’re not teenagers, so we’re gonna have to figure this out like adults.”  Reid paused, “I don’t think I can be your first officer with…whatever this thing is between us.  Might make things…complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“I don’t think Starfleet likes it when the command team kisses.”  She threw herself down on one of the couches.  Harris stared at her.

“We haven’t kissed yet, Jordan.”  

She rolled her eyes and was tempted to run up to him and plant on on his pretty little face, but decided that scene would be even more awkward to Allen or Prentice.  Instead, she rolled her eyes, “Well, we might.  It was a hypothetical scenario.”

Her CO opened his mouth to respond but the chime of the door broke in and he composed himself quickly, “Enter.”

Prentice stepped into the room, not in uniform and looking very confused.  “Uh, good morning sir..and ma’am.  I think I didn’t get the memo about uniforms.”

Ambrose chuckled, “This isn’t a formal mission thing…we’re in my quarters, Mr. Prentice.  Replicator – drink.” The young helm officer gave a thankful nod and snagged a beverage as Harris continued speaking, “Come sit.”

They were seated and Harris stood in front of them, a display screen behind him.  “Good morning.  I know you were wondering if we’d ever get to do this again…and to be honest, I wasn’t sure.  I’ll start with the obvious – Phillips was requested for Bravo operations and he accepted late last night.  He wishes he could be here, but they already put him on a duty shift this morning.”  Harris let that sink in for a moment.  He continued, “The other news is that my command was transferred to…this.”  He tapped the PADD in his hands and the large screen was filled with the USS Edinburgh in all her New Orleans class glory.  “That is our new ship.  You’ve been assigned to the USS Edinburgh, effectively immediately.”

Prentice let out a whoop of joy and then clapped his hands over his mouth and muffled a “Sorwy.”

Reid’s eyes went wide, “You’ve…this is joke?  She’s…incredible!”

Harris smiled, “No joke.  This is our future.  I offered the Chief Engineer gig to someone earlier today and she’ll be on board as soon as her transfer paperwork transfers.”

“When do we leave?” said Prentice.

The CO turned off the scene, “She’s slated to arrive before noon today and I’ll step on board with our Chief Engineering Officer to get command and control established.  What is more important is…”,  he snagged a pile of PADDs and handed one to each of them, “We’re taking on a crew of 200.  Most of them are recent cadet graduates who will be coming in over the next two days and transferred aboard.  Our departure day is May 16th, 2400 at 1200 hours.  As soon as we get the Edinburgh online, I’ll send you a message to step onboard and claim your quarters, and offices, and explore the ship.”  He paused, “You’ll need to familiarize yourself with your crew.  Prentice…”

He gave a knowing nod, “Yea, I figured.  Making Chief Helm at ensign given my history is a bit much.”

“The thing is, you prove yourself, the job is yours.  There’ll be some other helm and navigation officers coming aboard.  Work with them, teach them…mentor them in doing the right things – you know what that looks like now.”  The young officer nodded and returned to his PADD.  The CO glanced around at his command team, “Congratulations to each of you for what you’ve done to get here.  You deserve this command.  I’m proud to call you my command team.”  Harris gestured to them, “You’re dismissed.  I’ll let you know when the ship is ready for boarding.”